Sodium fast reactor
Also written SFR
Liquid sodium coolant with a fast, unmoderated neutron spectrum. Sodium carries heat superbly at atmospheric pressure, but burns in air and reacts violently with water. Large sodium-cooled cores can have a positive sodium void effect that the core design must offset. Fuel is typically metal alloy or mixed-oxide.
In the record: 8 companies, 2 laboratories and programmes, 7 reactors and 3 reactor designs.
Related approaches
Broader: Liquid-metal cooled
Companies 8
Laboratories and programmes 2
Reactors 7
Operating reactors first, then those being built or planned, then those shut down, suspended or cancelled.
- BOR-60 Operating Research Institute of Atomic Reactors · RU · 1 measurement
- China Experimental Fast Reactor Operating China Institute of Atomic Energy · CN · 1 measurement
- Fast Breeder Test Reactor Operating Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research · IN · 1 measurement
- Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor Commissioning IN
- Kemmerer Power Station Unit 1 Under construction TerraPower · US
- Aurora-INL Planned Oklo · US
- Jōyō Suspended JAEA · JP · 1 measurement
Reactor designs 3
Size class is worked out from the electrical output of one unit: up to 10 MWe is a microreactor, up to 300 MWe a small modular reactor. A design with no stated output is not classed.
| Design | Developer | Electrical output per unit | Size class | Licensing stage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4S Super-Safe, Small and Simple | Toshiba | 10 MWe planned | Microreactor | No milestone recorded |
| Aurora powerhouse Aurora | Oklo | 15 to 75 MWe planned | Small modular reactor | Application denied for one plant: NRC denies Aurora combined licence application · US Nuclear Regulatory Commission · 2022-01-06 |
| Natrium | TerraPower with GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy | 345 MWe planned | Large reactor | Construction permit issued for one plant: NRC construction permit CPAR-1 issued for Kemmerer Power Station Unit 1 (Natrium) · US Nuclear Regulatory Commission · 2026-03-09 |
Measurements
4 reactors using this approach carry 4 measurements: 4 claimed. The values, each with its status and source, are on the benchmark and on each device's page. Most measured: BOR-60 (1), China Experimental Fast Reactor (1), Fast Breeder Test Reactor (1), Jōyō (1).
Guides
- Reactor types explained The three questions that classify any fission reactor, and how pressurised water, boiling water, heavy water, gas-cooled, salt-cooled, molten-salt, sodium, lead and heat-pipe reactors each answer them.
Sodium fast reactor in the glossary · Fission overview · All approaches